WARATAHS players who are chasing Wallabies spots as well as an elusive Super 14 title are adamant they won't be distracted by the person sitting in the opposition coaching box on Saturday night.

They want to embarrass the Crusaders coach, Robbie Deans, by beating his team in the Super 14 final in Christchurch. But they also want to remain in his good books, because shortly after the final Deans will be heading to Sydney to take over the Wallabies. This time next week, Deans will be appearing at Australian Rugby Union headquarters in Sydney to announce the Wallabies squad for the domestic Tests against Ireland and France, and that contingent should include a large Waratahs representation.

As Waratahs players explained yesterday, the only way to impress a new Test coach is to perform. Waratahs captain Phil Waugh, who is on the shortlist to be Deans's Wallabies skipper this season, said that he and his teammates wouldn't sneak a peek at their new boss during the final. Instead, he said, the Deans factor would not even be discussed in the days leading up to the game. When asked if the players had been thinking about playing in front of the new Wallabies coach, Waugh replied: "I don't think anyone gives two hoots to be honest.

"This week he's the Crusaders coach. Obviously next week he'll be over here. But from the players' point of view, I don't think anyone really cares. He's the Crusaders coach, and we're going over there to beat his team."

Nonetheless, with Deans probably relying on most of the Waratahs forwards to form the base of his initial Test pack, the performance of fringe candidates such as second-rower Dean Mumm and prop Benn Robinson against the excellent Crusaders scrum could determine if they become part of the Wallabies' inner sanctum.

But Waugh is more interested in ensuring that the final referee - South African Mark Lawrence - allows the players to perform. Waugh has been irritated all season by the pedantic approach of some referees, believing they have stifled games. This comes through in statistics that show that last year, referees blew their whistle 21 times on average - awarding 19 penalties and two free kicks. This year there have been 27 stoppages on average - 12 penalties and 15 free kicks.

"I've been frustrated all year [by the refereeing]," Waugh said. "We won the game [against the Sharks], and I will still have a little bit of a whinge about the referee. They're putting the whistle in the mouth too often.

"The little infringements that the referees and touch judges are picking teams up on just affects the flow of the game. Not only the players are frustrated by this, but you can feel the crowd are frustrated as well. We just want to play footy, and certainly at times during the game it felt as if we were getting pulled up all the time."